Ambushed by bandits

Almost six hours later, Hunter walked out of his room, stretching his muscles. He came downstairs to see Kolvar sitting silently in the corner.

"Hey," Hunter patted Kolvar on the back as the elf slowly opened his eyes.

"You finished?" Kolvar titled his head.

"Yep. Shall we go now?" asked Hunter.

"While you were enjoying your time, I learned there is a new bandit group operating on the path to Bellburn city through the forest," said Kolvar.

Hunter signaled the bartender to get him a glass of water.

"Hmm. So you're saying there's a higher chance we stumble upon a group of bandits,"

Kolvar nodded.

"Great,"

To Kolvar's surprise, Hunter looked excited.

"Get yourself something to eat or drink. We'll leave this village in ten minutes," said Hunter.

After everything was said and done, Hunter and Kolvar exited the tavern. They went around the tavern to retrieve their horses. Just as Hunter ordered, Dicky fed the horses well. Hunter's black horse rubbed its head against Hunter, showing its affection toward him.

"Hey buddy," Hunter combed its black mane with his fingers. He mounted the horse and slowly galloped out of the village without saying a word to anyone. The two of them rode their horses in silence until Kolvar decided to question Hunter's plan to deal with the bandits. As far as he knew, entering Bellburn city through the main gate with sacks full of devil's buttons was not an option. If a guard checked the sacks, they would report them to the city guard, and the city guard would connect them to the murders. Once that happened, the two of them would be hanged for sure. That was the reason Kolvar wanted to enter the city through the second gate, which wasn't as guarded as the main gate. The only downside of using this gate was that they had to go through the forest where the bandits preyed on the travelers.

"You have a plan to deal with the bandits?" asked Kolvar.

"Why don't you formulate a plan yourself? I won't always be around to save your ass," Hunter snickered.

"First, I am pretty new to all this. Second, I don't have a magical weapon that kills people ignoring the defense talisman,"

"Can't argue with that point," said Hunter.

Still, Hunter didn't reveal his plan to Kolvar because he was still formulating a plan in his mind. First of all, Hunter had no clues about the bandits. Knowing his foes was necessary to plan ahead. However, Hunter always preferred the way of high-risk high rewards.

Hence, Hunter decided to face the bandits head-on instead of wasting too much time planning. With his current power level and the little knowledge he had, planning wouldn't make much difference. Besides, with the Devil's cry, he could kill anyone under level 40. Hunter doubted anyone would be at a higher level than forty among a lowly group of bandits. He just needed to get close to the leader and finish him off in front of all his lackeys. It would scare the rest and dominate their minds.

While forming a plan in his head, Hunter slowly strolled through the forest on his horse. Despite the sun reaching the middle of the sky, everything around him was dark. Sunlight could barely peek through the thick canopy. Since Hunter had no spells in his arsenal yet, he had to rely on his senses. At that moment, he heard nothing but twigs breaking under the horses and the chirping of the birds.

The journey from the village to Bellburn city would normally take six hours through the forest path. However, because of Hunter's slow ride, they still had yet to arrive at the city even after six hours. The sun slowly started to set on the horizon. Kolvar yawned.

"We should camp here somewhere and continue the journey tomorrow. It's gonna get darker soon," said Kolvar.

"No need to camp ourselves. The camp will find us," Hunter calmly said. His words didn't make any sense to Kolvar. However, Jolvar had a strong feeling that Hunter had a plan in his mind. For some reason, Kolvar felt Hunter was playing a risky game. Eventually, the forest became darker to the point Hunter and Kolvar couldn't see what's in front of them.

Kolvar didn't know Hunter deliberately delayed the journey to Bellburn city. Suddenly, Kolvar heard a few footsteps around him. He quickly pulled the reins, stopping the horses.

"Did you hear that?" asked Kolvar.

"Hmm," Hunter nodded. Hunter slowly put the dagger into his shirt, using the darkness as cover. Instead of riding faster, Hunter waited for the footsteps to get louder, indicating people were getting closer. By people, Hunter meant the bandits.

As Hunter was expecting, the footsteps sounded louder and louder. Thanks to the darkness in the forest, Hunter could barely see the figures surrounding him.

"Hunter," Kolvar vaguely saw a few silhouettes walking around them. The horses neighed in fear. But Hunter remained calm. Suddenly, something sparked a fire, finally lighting the dark forest. In the dim orange glow, Hunter noticed five men wearing cloaks and dark robes. They surrounded the two horses.

"Bandits," Kolvar sighed. He had been telling Hunter about the bandits and asking to look for an alternative way for hours. But he didn't listen to him at all. Now, they had stumbled upon the bandits, or rather, the bandits caught them.

"Look what we've found," one of the cloaked figures devilishly chuckled.

"What do you have there?" asked another bandit, pointing at the sacks dangling on the horse's back.

"I want to meet your leader," To everyone's shock, Hunter asked to meet the bandit leader. The bandits were surprised by his calm tone. Normally, people would panic and be terrified by the sight of the bandits but not this guy. Not only did he not look scared of them, but he also demanded to meet their leader.

"What makes you think you ask us for anything?" a bandit slowly stepped toward Michael with a dagger in his hand.

"Because me and my friend here belonged to a noble family. We are worth more alive than dead," said Hunter.

The bandits didn't doubt Hunter. After all, only the rich and wealthy could afford horses. Furthermore, they received the information they had coins, which added weight to Hunter's words.

"Which family?" asked another bandit.

"Heathstones," answered Kolvar.

The bandits became silent for a few moments. Since they believed Hunter and Kolvar were nobles, they didn't dare to kill them. Taking them hostage and asking for ransom was more profitable than killing them for a pouch of coins. Besides, killing nobles would bring heat to the bandits. They just started preying upon the people and definitely weren't strong enough to face the aftermath of killing nobles. Of course, asking for ransom would be dangerous, but it was relatively less risky than killing them. Finally, the bandits decided to take the two of them to their leader and let him make a decision.

"Unmount the horses and follow us," said the bandit near Hunter's horse. Hunter slowly unmounted his horse and handed over the rein to the bandit.

"Don't try to be a hero. Or, this forest will be your resting place," said the bandit.

"We don't want any trouble. Just take us to your leader," said Hunter.

Hunter and Kolvar slowly followed the bandits. They didn't dare to make any sudden movements. To Hunter, it felt like they were wandering aimlessly in the woods. But it wasn't the case. These bandits knew the terrain like the back of their hands. Hunter closely noticed everything around him. While following the bandits, he broke a few twigs in case he had to escape and find the path again. His action didn't cause the bandits to doubt him. For them, he was just breaking a few twigs to calm his nerves.

After following the bandits for almost half an hour, they reached a campsite. Hunter noticed several tents and a campfire in the middle. Several bandits sat around the campfire while some patrolled the outskirts of their camp. When they saw the group, they welcomed the bandits with a wave.

"Guys, Thrud's back," shouted a bandit.

"Amateurs." Hunter rolled his eyes. They were dumb enough to call their friend using his real name.

The more time Hunter spent in this world, the more he realized the people of this world weren't as smart and cunning as the people on earth. Maybe because there were strict rules and no magic, the people of earth tended to be more cunning and smart. On the contrary, the people of this world preferred to solve their problems with brute force instead of brains. Granted Hunter was not the smartest man on earth, but he was way smarter than these bandits.

Hunter counted at least twenty bandits in total. The bandit named Thrud led Hunter and Kolvar to the biggest tent in the camp. They didn't even bother tying Hunter and Kolvar's hands and legs. While following Thrud, Hunter noticed a cage made of bamboo on the side. He could vaguely see a man inside the cage. Judging by the two bandits staying guard outside the cage, Hunter could tell the man must be either powerful or valuable to the bandits.

Thrud pushed away the cloth to reveal the inside of the tent. As soon as Hunter and Kolvar stepped into the tent, they noticed a giant of a man standing almost seven feet, brushing a gray fur coat on the stand. The man had hair like a lion's mane. On his back, there were at least twenty to thirty scars. The man's hands were big enough to snap Kolvar like a twig.

"Boss," The man slowly turned around after hearing Thrud. As expected, the man had scars on his front too, along with a thick bushy beard. Hunter calmly stared at the man's rugged face with an eye patch covering his left eye.

"They claim they are nobles," said Thrud.

"Nobles eh?" The man talked in an animalistic voice perfectly suitable for his beastly body. Kolvar trembled to see him walking towards them, but Hunter didn't even flinch.